Top five NFL celebration fails (VIDEO)

Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson has faced a barrage of criticism from NFL analysts and players alike over his penalized celebration in last night’s game between the Eagles and the New York Giants.

After a 50 yard reception, Jackson ran out of bounds and flipped the ball towards an opposing coach, attracting an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that negated the entire play. Watch the video here.

Stupid penalty? Absolutely. But where does this penalty fit into some of the worst NFL celebration fails of all time? Sadly, (for DeSean, anyway) this doesn’t even crack the top five. In fact, it’s not even DeSean Jackson’s worst offense (Although he does make the list). Here are the NFL’s top five celebration fails:

5. Michael Boley shows off his arm–New York Giants linebacker Michael Boley doesn’t get to score very often. So when he did make it to the end zone against the Rams earlier this season, he got a little overexcited and threw the ball directly into the face of a random onlooker with more power than any pass Eli Manning made that night.

4. Terrell Owens defiles the star–T.O. seemed to take pride in his excessive touchdown celebrations over the years (See Sharpie and Pom-poms). One stunt, however, proved to be an epic fail. After scoring a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys, he ran to midfield to celebrate on the painted star. Emmitt Smith responded later in the game by repeating the move after his own touchdown. When Terrell attempted the move again after his second TD, he was hit (hard!) by a Dallas’ George Teague.

3. Two Cardinals, one referee, so many questions–What started out weird just got weirder as the referee… on second thought, just watch the video.

2. DeSean Jackson has been doing this for years–DeSean Jackson is by no means a first-time offender when it comes to celebration fails. He’s been perfecting the art form for years. While he was already known for his flip n’ fumble incident when still in high school, it was this premature celebration as a rookie on MNF against the Dallas Cowboys that made him famous.

1, Bill Gramatica ends his season on a high note–This is not just any celebration fail. This is the celebration fail that all others are measured against. We could perhaps understand Arizona kicker Bill Gramatica’s excitement if this were the Super Bowl, or a playoff game, or even the end of a close regular season game. But after making a 42-yard field goal to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead at the end of the first half in a meaningless game against the New York Giants, Gramatica got so excited that he leaped into the air in celebration… only to tear is ACL on the way down, ending his season. Random fact: After Gramatica’s injury, the Cardinals were left without a kicker for the rest of the game. Future war hero, Bay Area native, and Cardinal safety Pat Tillman had to take over the kicking duties for the rest of the game.

So while DeSean Jackson’s Sunday night celebration was definitely not a smart move, he is at least as plenty of company. Do you agree with these choices? Which celebrations did we miss?